I-light indicatob



April 11,1933. K. GATH 1,903,449

FLIGHT INDICATOR Original Filed Dec. 14 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor A ttorney April 11, 1933. KQE. GATH 1,903,449

FLIGHT INDICATOR Original Filed Dec. 14, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor w ll By @Mm Attorney,

April-11, 1933. K; E. GATH 1,903,449

FLIGHT INDICATOR Original Filed Dec. 14, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I n venior KQMQ ZZGIQZZ A ttbmey Patented Apr. 11, 1933 i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application filed December 14, 1829, Serial No. 414,112. Renewed September 80, 1888.

The present invention relates to indicating for the purpose of illustration I have shown means for aero lanes and'the like and has for the invention mounted in position for operaits particular ject to register and indicate tion upon the conventional type of aeroplane the time in which the aeroplane is in actual indicated generally at and which is pro- 5 flight. vided with aninstrument board 6 upon which 55 A further important object is to provide the instrument 7 forming the subject matter an instrument of this character employing 0f th present inv ntion, is mount d. the use of a clock mechanism for recording The instrument comprises a casing Shutthe hours and portions of hours during which in g a cover plate 9 secured to its face and at 10 the machine remains in flight and which is the forward side of which is pla'ced a dial operatively connected with the landing gear plate 10. of the machine to stop the mechanism Whenhe operating means of the instrument th ma hin r h th d, comprises a train of earingell operated by a A further object, of the invention is to prospring 12 substantia ly similar t0 the main vide an a paratus of this character of a p g 0f a clock or watch. 55

simple an practical construction, which is Th sprlng 12 1s operatlvely connected efficient and reliable in performance, rela- Wlth & haft 13 for drlvlng the shaft, said tively inexpensive to anufa tu d i shaft having one of the gears mounted therestall in o erative position and otherwise well 011 a d n wnn ted WIth the train of gears adapted or the purposes for which th am 11 for the operation thereof, as clearly illus- 70 i i t d d, trated in Figure 2 of the drawings.

Oth bj t d advantages id i A centrally disposed shaft 14 is journalled the special construction, combination and al- In the casmg h g one of ege s sy rangement of the various elements forming thereto and thls shaft also carries a omter the invention as more fully hereinafter dehand 15 f y o the face of t o dial 76 scribed and claimed, reference being had to 10 ooopolatlon Wlth an hour Scale 16 the accompanying drawings forming part W h1ch is arranged around the border of the hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like dlal and Whloh 1s g o from one to parts th h t, d i hi h; 4 so that the movement of the hand around the Figure 1 1s a front elevational view of the dial F denote an elapsed time in hours, or so instrument showing the dials provided for Portions thereof 11 recording th l d ti The face of the 1al plate 10 is also provid- Figure 2 is a similar view with the dial ed 'Wlth Smaller (hols 18 and 19 havln ti k d hands or omters 20, 21 and 22 associa Figure 3 is a similar view with the cover rospootlvo y t e the (11311 also being l t removed graduated from one to ten with its hand op- Figure 4 is a side'elevational view with f fl y one of ho 's havmg goal arts broken away and shown in section to t-IO res Ct to the gear Offil'lE shaft t0 illustrate the stop mechanism when in reroglstel w o p revolution of h o l d iti 7 1 15 and thus indicate the lapse in hours 1n units Figure 5 is a fragmentary side elevational o view of an aeroplane showing the manner of The (11111 18 15 also graduatod from onoto connectin the stop mechanism with the landn n h the a d 1 assoolflted therewlth in 0 th a hin and operated by one of the gears having a gear lgure 6 is a fragmentar side elevational ratio of one toten with res ect to the gear view of the instrument wit the stop mechaemployed for operating the and 2( so that nism in position for interruptin the further the d1-al 18 accordingly will indicate an movement of 'the mechanism 0 the instrue apsed time in units of one hundred. ment. I Referring-now to'the drawing in detail The dial 18 with its associated hand 22 is similarly operated through the train of gears having a gear ratio of ten to one with respect to the gear used for operating the hand 21 in order that the hands 22 of the dial 19 will indicate the elapsed time for each one thou 5 sand hours.

The spring 12 is adapted to be wound from time to time in the usual manner to maintain the proper attention thereon for operating the train of gears 11 and an indicating means for the spring is provided comprising a bell crank lever 23 pivotally mounted to the cover 9 and having one end 24: engageable with the outer convolution of the spring, it being apparent that when the sprin is unwound 15 or in an expanded condition t e end of the arm 24 will be moved in accordance with the ex andin movement of the spring.

e en of the arm 24 is maintained in constant engagement with the spring by means of a coilspring 25. The opposite end of the arm 23 is provided with indlcia 26 for registering with an opening 27 formed in the cover and accordingly when the spring is unwound the indicia will be moved into registry with the opening to indicate to the pilot of the machine that the spring needs rewinding. A stop mechanism is provided for the train of gears comprising a lever 28 pivotally mounted at the rear of the casing and having one end 29 bent angularly for positioning between the teeth of one of the gears shown at 30 whereby to prevent movement ofthe gears.

The opposite end of the lever 28 is also bent 1 35 angularly as shown at 31 and is provided with a 0011 spring 32 attached to the casing for normally urging the lever out of gear engaging position.

The inner edge of the end 31 of the lever is provided 7 with an inclined face 33 with which one end of a wire rod 34 is engageable for sliding movement along the inclined face whereby to move the lever into gear engaging position.

The wire rod 34 is slidably mounted in a housing 35 extending downwardly through the fuselage of the aeroplaneand with-t e lower end of the wire engageable by a pro-v jection 36 carried by the telescoping upright 37 of the landing gear 38 of the machine.

The telescoping u right forms part of a shock absorbing mec anism for the landing 7 gear and is slidably carried in a housing 39 within which the shock absorbing means is contained. Accordingly as the machine strikes the ground the upright 37 willbe forced upwardly into the housing 39 which in turn will cause an upward movement of the -rod 34 whereby to move the lever 28 into engaging position and thus stop the further upright is projected downwardly by the shock absorbing mechanism so as to release the rod and permit the spring 32 to remove the stop from the gear of the clock mechanism.

It will thus be ap arent that the exact number of hours of fiig t of the aeroplane will be recorded on the instrument whereby it will be possible and also serve as a means for checkmg up on the time for making periodic repairs and overhauling the engine of the machine.

It is obvious that my invention is susceptibleto various changes and modifications in construction without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claim, and I accordingly claim all such forms of .the device to which I am entitled.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is:

In combination with an aeroplane having a resilient landing gear, and a time recording mechanism carried by the aeroplane, a lever pivoted to the recording mechanism and having a part ada ted to engage a part of the recordlng mec anism to stop the same, a

spring for normally holding the lever out of engagement with said part, said lever having an inclined face on its tail end, a flexible member connected to a partofthe movable portion of the landin gear and having its upper end arranged ad acent the inclined face of the lever whereby when the said movable part of the gear is moved upwardly the flexible member ismoved upwardly so that its upper end will engage the inclined face of the lever and move the lever into engagement with a part of the recording mechanism to stop the same, and a flexible casing enclosing the flexible member.

In testimon whereof I afiix my si ature.

NNETH EARL G TH.

operation of the time recording mechanism.

As long as the weight of the machine rests upon the landing gear, the rod will be retained in its upward position and when the 65 plane again takes ofi in flight the telescoping I 

